Final answer:
In the face of a product shortage, sellers will drive the price up due to increased demand and limited supply. This attracts more suppliers and increases production until the demand is met.
Step-by-step explanation:
If there was initially a shortage in the market for a product, the correct answer is B. Sellers will drive the price up. This is because a shortage indicates that consumers demand more goods than are available on the market. As a result of the increased scarcity and competition among buyers to obtain the product, the market price is driven higher. This creates additional opportunities for profit, which in turn can induce more suppliers to enter the market or existing suppliers to increase their production to meet the demand.
In contrast, if there was an excess supply, the situation would be different with the price likely to go down. A surplus of goods would lead to suppliers lowering prices to sell off their excess inventory, as seen when a store has a going-out-of-business sale or when international companies find a saturated market.